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Glite Dictionary
Coccoidea

Coccoidea

9.9
Small insects that feed on plants, such as scale insects and mealybugs
  • noun
  • /kɒkˈɔɪdiə/
  • Specialized
: Coccoidea
  • The Coccoidea superfamily includes both scale insects and mealybugs.

Examples

  • Several members of the Coccoidea cause significant damage to citrus crops worldwide.

  • Researchers are studying the biology of Coccoidea to develop better pest control methods.

  • The Coccoidea family includes various scale insects.

  • Many Coccoidea species are harmful to crops.

  • Researchers are studying the biology of Coccoidea to develop better pest control methods.

  • Several members of the Coccoidea cause significant damage to citrus crops worldwide.

  • Many Coccoidea species are harmful to crops.

Surface Forms

Coccoidea singular
Coccoideas plural

Morphology

Coccoidea = coccus (opaque) = cocco + oidea

The stem and the technical taxonomic suffix '-oidea' are specialized scientific forms unfamiliar to general learners, so the meaning is not inferable from everyday English knowledge.

Etymology

Coccoidea comes from the Greek kokkos, meaning 'berry' or 'seed', because many of these insects look like small round bumps on plants. The ending -oidea means 'like' and is used to name a group of related animals, so Coccoidea is the group of 'berry-like' insects such as scale insects and mealybugs that can be plant pests.